The West suspects Iran is secretly trying to build nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists its programme is solely peaceful.

Primary sukuk issued out of the Middle East and North Africa region accounted for 59% of total volume of global sukuk this quarter.

On Saturday, both sides were reported as blaming each other for the lack of any agreement to resume the peace process following Mr Mitchell's visit.

many expatriates to flee when they are in financial trouble rather than filing for bankruptcy and setting out a repayment schedule

Some financial analysts say the risk of arrest for debt could also drive away potential new investors and businesspeople as Dubai struggles to recover from the current economic slump.

The root of the problem, analysts say, is that Dubai’s legal structures have not kept pace with its frenetic development

Dubai’s laws are largely based on Egyptian civil law and Islamic law, or Shariah, with no real effort to encompass the tremendous volume of its commerce.

Some efforts have been made to change the system, though analysts worry that they may fade as the economic crisis recedes.

In Iran, Mr. Khamenei's speech marked the anniversary of the death of Shiite Islam's founder Imam Ali. Mr. Khamenei drew comparisons between his rule and that of the imam. He recounted how Imam Ali had practiced patience with opponents until it was clear they weren't changing course, and then took out his sword to deliver them a final blow.

The P+5 Group - the UK, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany - have a longstanding offer on the table of diplomatic incentives in return for the suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment. Iran has always defended its right to continue its nuclear programme.

Yet, as in a family feud, Yemenis struggle to explain what started the Houthis’ quarrel with the government. Its roots go back to the early 1990s, when Saudi Arabia expelled nearly a million Yemeni workers to punish Mr Saleh for backing Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the first Gulf war in 1991.

After the last round of clashes sputtered out in July 2008, Houthi forces quietly regained possession of much of the country around Saada, positioning themselves to block the few roads that give access to the rest of the country.

Each side accuses the other of atrocities and of acting as a cat’s-paw for foreign powers. The government says the Houthis are fighting for Iran. The rebels say the government truckles to the Saudis.

although there is no proof of Iranian involvement, Saudi Arabia does have a legitimate interest in helping Yemen’s government control its side of their mutual border. The kingdom is, in fact, a reluctant ally of Mr Saleh, as are the Western donors whose aid has long propped up his regime. But with even more perilous potential threats to Yemen looming, such as growing unrest in the once-separate south and menacing signs of a resurgence by affiliates of al-Qaeda, Mr Saleh can still plausibly pose as the only man stopping the country from becoming the world’s next failed state.